Here comes the Masters Weekend again and this year we have a Frenchman. So we're all going to support Mathieu Pavon!

But do you know this competition?

The "Masters Tournament" , the first of which was held on March 22, 1934, is the first of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments of world professional men's golf . This tournament created by Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones is always played the second week of April, at the same venue, the Augusta National Golf Club , a private golf course located in Augusta , Georgia ( United States ).

Want to attend? Here's how!

Entrance tickets for the tournament are very difficult to obtain , they are permanent from one year to the next, and benefit the same people (or their family and guests) each year.

First option for you: Know a member or become a member of the club , for about… $50,000. For that price, you get your green jacket and the opportunity to attend the tournament every year. But the problem is that you don't ask for membership and you have to be co-opted.

You can also try your luck by buying tickets for the games from Monday to Wednesday on the tournament website . The prices are not cheap, between 100 and 200 dollars…and the tickets are generally drawn at random. Be careful, you have to register well in advance.

Try the resale market but be careful of the price, this year some tickets for Monday's games have resold for more than $500.

Finally, another solution: Ask a player in the tournament . He is entitled to eight invitations and can buy places for his friends or family (around $100 per day).

Last little tip, try your luck tobecome a volunteer .

Good luck. We'll just have to stick to TV again this year!

Who are the invited players?

The number of participants is more limited than in other Grand Slam tournaments because they must be invited by the Augusta National Golf Club.

Invitation criteria (as of 2010):

• Masters Winners (Lifetime)
• US Open Winners (Honorary Member, valid for 5 years)
• The winners of the Open Championship (Honorary Member, valid for 5 years)
• PGA Championship Winners (Honorary Member, valid for 5 years)
• The Winners of The Players Championship (Valid for 3 years)
• The winner of the S. Amateur (Honorary Member, valid for 1 year) and the vice-champion
• The winner of the British Amateur (Honorary Member, valid for 1 year)
• The winner of the Asian Amateur Championship (Honorary Member, valid for 1 year)
• The winner of the S. Amateur Public Links
• The winner of theS. Mid-Amateur
• The winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship
• The top 12 players (and ties) from the previous year's Masters
• The top 4 players (and tied) from the previous year's US Open
• The top 4 players (and tied) from the previous year's Open Championship
• The top 4 players (and tied) from the previous year's PGA Championship
• The top 30 highest-ranked players in terms of earnings on the official PGA Tour money list from the previous year
• The top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking from the previous year
• The top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking released the week before the Masters

There are many traditions that make this tournament so special:

Champions Dinner on Tuesday Night

To which former winners and some members of the golf club are invited and whose menu is composed by the defending champion.

Wednesday's Par 3 Contest

It is a nine-hole course of 1,060 yards for a Par 27. The players' caddies are their friends, wives, coaches or children , which helps create a family atmosphere .

The Caddies

Prior to 1982, all Masters players were required to use the services of a caddie from Augusta National Club, who by club tradition had always been an African-American. (It is worth noting that club co-founder Clifford Roberts is known to have said, "As long as I live, golfers will be white and caddies will be black.") Since 1982, players have been allowed to use their own caddies, but they wear a uniform consisting of white overalls, a green Masters cap, and white tennis shoes . Each player's last name is on the back of his caddie's uniform.

Honorary starting shot

Since 1963, it has been customary to start the tournament with an honorary tee shot on the first hole , usually taken by one of golf's legendary players.

The symbolic “green jacket ”

which the winner of the previous year gives to the winner at the end of the tournament,

Finally The day after the tournament, schoolchildren play a round of four-ball on the course . These are the last people allowed to play on the course before the groundskeepers begin the process of repairing and restoring the course to the way it was before hosting the tournament.

The “Amen Corner”

This is the name given to the 3 holes that are known to be the most difficult sequence of the course ; these are holes 11, 12 and 13. This name was given to this passage of the course in reference to a piece of jazz, by the journalist Herbert Warren Wind

And the French at the Masters?

There are none this year. Below is the history of French participations...

Name	Number of participations	Number of cuts made	Years)
Victor Dubuisson	3	1	2014, 2015, 2016
Jean Garaialde	2	0	1964, 1966
Philippe Ploujoux	2	0	1982, 1983
Thomas Levet	2	1	2002, 2005
Victor Perez	2	1	2020, 2021
Albert Pelissier	1	0	1952
Gregory Havret	1	0	2011
Henry of Lamaze	1	0	1958
John Van de Velde	1	1	2000
Julien Guerrier	1	0	2007
Romain Langasque	1	1	2016

Pimento Cheese

No Masters without Pimento Cheese. This dates back to the 1930s, when Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones, the founders of the tournament, began offering sandwiches to spectators. At the time, the most popular sandwich was ham and cheese, but over the years other options were added, including the Pimento Cheese.

Over the years, the Pimento Cheese has become a Masters golf institution, with fans eagerly awaiting the opportunity to enjoy the classic sandwich each year. Today, the sandwich is served throughout the golf course, as well as at tournament restaurants and food stands.

And here is the official recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups grated white cheddar cheese
• 2 cups grated yellow cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup of crème fraîche
• 1/4 cup finely chopped chili peppers
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the white cheddar and yellow cheddar cheese until well combined.
2. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, pimientos, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and paprika. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference.
4. Serve with crackers, raw vegetables or in lightly toasted sandwiches.

We wish you a good Masters. As for us, we registered to try our luck to get a ticket in 2025. We will keep you informed of the steps, difficulties, results...

Please note that we had been selected as volunteers this year but we did not follow up for planning reasons.